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Medullah posted:Not sure if it was a targeted offer but I just got an email for 8% back at gas stations with my Best Buy Visa, only through 7/16 but hey, better than 2% 5% this quarter with Discover.
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Jul 4, 2023 19:25
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Girbot posted:5% this quarter with Discover. and Chase Freedom. I hate how often those two 5% category cards sync up. They were both groceries in Q1 this year also.
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Jul 4, 2023 21:29
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The citi custom cash is 5% back on gas or groceries every quarter
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Jul 4, 2023 21:32
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Just wanted to post that 6 years ago I had no credit, never had a credit card despite being 30 and after finding this thread decided "Let's try one of those secured starter cards and see how it goes" and now I have an 800+ FICO score which I think is pretty nice for generally being A Rather Poor Person with a mediocre job/wage. So thanks thread!
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Jul 12, 2023 17:38
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Shear Modulus posted:The citi custom cash is 5% back on gas or groceries every quarter Is there a limit/cap?
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Jul 12, 2023 18:13
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Strong Sauce posted:Is there a limit/cap? It's actually monthly and the cap is $500, after that the bonus drops to 1%. It's a really good card, glad I got it.
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Jul 12, 2023 18:43
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Mental Hospitality posted:Just wanted to post that 6 years ago I had no credit, never had a credit card despite being 30 and after finding this thread decided "Let's try one of those secured starter cards and see how it goes" and now I have an 800+ FICO score which I think is pretty nice for generally being A Rather Poor Person with a mediocre job/wage. So thanks thread! Great job, congrats!
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Jul 13, 2023 03:36
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Okay, I’m a weirdo. Mid 30’s, froze my credit over the equfax thing a few years ago, but have three credit cards to my name. All three are fine, and only use a local bank visa one regularly (and pay it off in full every month.). I have no plans on buying a house anytime soon, and on top of my online business, I just started bartending again. Basically, my plan is to unfreeze my credit to apply for a better general purpose card, and then refreeze since identity theft is a pain in the rear end. My purchase lifestyle is basically I spend money on groceries, some gas, the occasional Amazon purchase, and eating out, and computer stuff (mostly mac computer stuff, but I’m getting into AI so a windows build may be in my future). I own my used hybrid outright. From my research, and considering im buying one (or several) computer purchase in the near future, is the Apple Card bad? Im getting both a new Apple laptop/desktop/maybe a peloton bike. So basically between 2-5K of big purchases in say the next 3 months, and then back to my generally frugal ways. The other options that have stood out is the Amazon card, or a chase freedom, since nerd wallet loves it. Thank you thread. LionArcher fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Jul 14, 2023 |
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Jul 14, 2023 16:54
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LionArcher posted:Okay, I’m a weirdo. Mid 30’s, froze my credit over the equfax thing a few years ago, but have three credit cards to my name. All three are fine, and only use a local bank visa one regularly (and pay it off in full every month.). I have no plans on buying a house anytime soon, and on top of my online business, I just started bartending again. Basically, my plan is to unfreeze my credit to apply for a better general purpose card, and then refreeze since identity theft is a pain in the rear end. There's general 2% and 2.5% cards that are good for everyday spend, your best value in several big purchases is something with a spend requirement to earn a sign up bonus, so probably like a premium card either Chase Sapphire or Chase Sapphire Reserve or Citi Premier or Amex Plat, then once you've had the card a year and the 2nd annual fee posts you call up and ask to downgrade the card so you don't pay hte fee again. So Chase Saphire preferred has 90k points available possibly still in branch (i.e. you have to go to a chase branch): https://www.doctorofcredit.com/starts-3-19-chase-sapphire-preferred-90000-in-branch-signup-bonus/ Citi Premier is 75000 points for 4k spend : https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi-premier-75000-points-signup-bonus/ Nerd wallet's ratings are based on advertiser spend and I no longer trust them.
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Jul 14, 2023 17:11
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pseudanonymous posted:your best value in several big purchases is something with a spend requirement to earn a sign up bonus, so probably like a premium card either Chase Sapphire or Chase Sapphire Reserve or Citi Premier or Amex Plat, then once you've had the card a year and the 2nd annual fee posts you call up and ask to downgrade the card so you don't pay hte fee again. Stupid question tangential to your point: if looking to get into the AmEx ecosystem, given that their charge cards can't be downgraded to no-AF cards but can get upgrade bonuses, is it best to do the once-a-year Green>Gold>Plat signup to maximize bonuses and get potential upgrade offers? Or should you just jump into Platinum (assuming you plan to get one anyway) when there's a good SUB to make sure you get it, then downgrade to Gold/Green after the first year and not care about the missed SUBs and upgrades?
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Jul 14, 2023 17:51
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disaster pastor posted:Stupid question tangential to your point: if looking to get into the AmEx ecosystem, given that their charge cards can't be downgraded to no-AF cards but can get upgrade bonuses, is it best to do the once-a-year Green>Gold>Plat signup to maximize bonuses and get potential upgrade offers? Or should you just jump into Platinum (assuming you plan to get one anyway) when there's a good SUB to make sure you get it, then downgrade to Gold/Green after the first year and not care about the missed SUBs and upgrades? SUBs are once in a lifetime per card. I don't think upgrade/downgrade is a good path. But someone else might correct me.
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Jul 14, 2023 18:39
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CubicalSucrose posted:SUBs are once in a lifetime per card. Yes, but my understanding is SUB and upgrade bonus are considered separate by AmEx, so you can wait for the upgrade offer to the next level card, apply for that card on its own to get the SUB, and once you're approved, accept the upgrade. So you'd go from, e.g., having a Green to having a Gold with a SUB plus a Gold with an upgrade bonus.
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Jul 14, 2023 18:48
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Used the chase travel platform for the first time to book a hotel. Got there tonight, and the hotel said it was cancelled (and they were full up). Called chase, they took forever to call the front desk and confirm that I was somehow hosed. Gave me 7500 points, but uhh I'm still kinda screwed. Found my own room luckily down the street, but it was still massively inconvenient, and we're in a much worse place. Does this just happen sometimes with chase? Hotel said it came through hotelroomsditect.com or something, so chase is apparently farming bookings out. Did I just get massively unlucky? Stick to flights?
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Jul 15, 2023 05:52
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Idk how common it is, but my fiancee booked a round trip pair of airline tickets for last weekend through Capital One Travel and we got similarly hosed - the return trip was silently cancelled, and when we went to check in we saw that we were going to a totally different city without any connection or transfer. C1 rebooked us for a (indirect) flight the next afternoon, and offered a $50 credit (total - not each). Bank/CC travel portal seems like it might suck rear end. E: hotels routinely overbook, and third party bookings (Expedia, chase, Priceline, etc) are often first on the chopping block - direct bookings get preferential treatment. But they'd usually compensate you by getting you a room nearby at no additional charge. CaptainJuan fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Jul 15, 2023 |
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Jul 15, 2023 06:24
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Baddog posted:Used the chase travel platform for the first time to book a hotel. Got there tonight, and the hotel said it was cancelled (and they were full up). Called chase, they took forever to call the front desk and confirm that I was somehow hosed. Gave me 7500 points, but uhh I'm still kinda screwed. Found my own room luckily down the street, but it was still massively inconvenient, and we're in a much worse place. Happened to me a few years ago, almost exactly the same story. Lesson learned, always book directly with hotels and just transfer the chase points to the hotel's program.
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Jul 15, 2023 15:55
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The Vikings posted:Happened to me a few years ago, almost exactly the same story. Lesson learned, always book directly with hotels and just transfer the chase points to the hotel's program. For Hyatt sure, but other hotel points are worth substantially less than 1cpp. I wouldn’t transfer and just do the cash rate.
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Jul 15, 2023 16:06
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Is there really any difference between the travel portals and booking.com, which I’ve had pretty good success with?
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Jul 15, 2023 16:12
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mightygerm posted:For Hyatt sure, but other hotel points are worth substantially less than 1cpp. I wouldn’t transfer and just do the cash rate.
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Jul 15, 2023 16:14
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I wouldn't even book flights through Chase portal to be honest. I got screwed for around $1000 a few years ago after using Chase to book my flights.
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Jul 15, 2023 17:23
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I had the opposite, or perhaps bizzaro experience, where I booked with chase for a flight that was $90. They called me later and said hey, we forgot to actually book that flight so we have to rebook it and want go confirm you're still going and the flight details. Chase ended up paying $300 for that ticket on my behalf. So yeah, they're incompetent but it had little effect on me. A previous trip went fine and one since then too, so I'll keep using that garbage.
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Jul 15, 2023 19:26
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Hey dumb question but uh does the metal Charles schwab Amex platinum with the wireless logo actually support wireless? I’m finding mixed things online.
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Jul 16, 2023 01:21
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Residency Evil posted:Hey dumb question but uh does the metal Charles schwab Amex platinum with the wireless logo actually support wireless? I’m finding mixed things online. If by "support wireless" you mean "you can hover the card over the little doo-dad without needing to swipe or insert/pin-thing," then yes it does (got my card like 2 years ago I think, unless I got a replacement at some point during that time).
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Jul 16, 2023 01:28
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CubicalSucrose posted:If by "support wireless" you mean "you can hover the card over the little doo-dad without needing to swipe or insert/pin-thing," then yes it does (got my card like 2 years ago I think, unless I got a replacement at some point during that time). I’m finding some references to a “full metal” and a plastic/metal card in old posts, with the full metal card maybe not having it? Strange since it has the logo.
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Jul 16, 2023 01:41
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Metal amex tap-n-pay works fine. I think it didn't have it when first introduced, but that was Amex being weird about rolling out tap-n-pay I believe.
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Jul 16, 2023 02:10
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Is this just general worry that you will sign up for the card and then tap to pay won’t work? That seems like something you could just complain about if it happens to you.
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Jul 16, 2023 15:05
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Apple or Google Wallet from your phone is much more simple anyway I think.
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Jul 16, 2023 15:43
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smackfu posted:Is this just general worry that you will sign up for the card and then tap to pay won’t work? That seems like something you could just complain about if it happens to you. No I have the card and it's not working. When I googled I found mixed information on whether it worked with the metal cards or not.
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Jul 16, 2023 16:28
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Residency Evil posted:No I have the card and it's not working. When I googled I found mixed information on whether it worked with the metal cards or not. Any of the ones they are issuing now should work, perhaps request a replacement. There are some pathetic Reddit threads with people pissed their replacement card has it, because it requires a bit of plastic to sandwiched inside the metal so it’s not “pure metal” and doesn’t make the same luxurious ka-thunk anymore.
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Jul 16, 2023 17:50
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It's very likely I'm gonna need to put ~$2,000 on my credit card soon ($4,500 credit line) which I've never done close to before. I've basically only ever used it for small, easy to pay back purchases to build credit. Does anyone have any tips for a first time big-purchase CC user? I'm planning on being able to make monthly payments of at least $200, more like $250-350 in practice -- which I believe will put me well over the minimum payment threshold and I think that means my credit won't be hurt? The interest rate is 28%, which I know is about as high as it can be -- I assume that's because I'm in my 20s and haven't built much financial goodwill or something? Is my plan okay, or am I overlooking any gross errors? Thanks in advance.
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Jul 17, 2023 13:29
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Find a card with a 12 month 0% APR period, or get a separate loan. Under no circumstances should you be paying a 20%ish interest rate on anything unless you have absolutely no other options.
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Jul 17, 2023 13:32
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mightygerm posted:Find a card with a 12 month 0% APR period, or get a separate loan. Under no circumstances should you be paying a 20%ish interest rate on anything unless you have absolutely no other options. Yeah, this for sure - unless you have no other choice (IE, this purchase is health related and has to be done, and you don't have good enough credit for another card) you should absolutely be getting a new card or a loan from your local Credit Union. Neeeeever buy anything with a credit card that you will be paying interest on.
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Jul 17, 2023 13:36
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Snuff Melange posted:It's very likely I'm gonna need to put ~$2,000 on my credit card soon ($4,500 credit line) which I've never done close to before. I've basically only ever used it for small, easy to pay back purchases to build credit. Does anyone have any tips for a first time big-purchase CC user? Another option is to "not buy that thing until you can pay for it in cash." See the Steve Martin SNL skit. Depending on what this is, there's a chance it's not possible. But if it's something other than a 100% necessity, you might very seriously consider waiting. Credit card debt can be an incredibly difficult financial burden.
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Jul 17, 2023 14:26
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Thanks for the input gang. Two main points in response, I guess. 1.) The purchase can't wait, it's a severe car problem and I need the car to keep my job. In my area it's not really feasible to Uber to work for an interim period or take a bus, unfortunately. 2.) I hear you about the APR, I knew that was a really poo poo %. According to online credit card payment calculators, I'm looking at paying under $200 interest over 6-9 months on a $2000 credit card balance -- not ideal but doable. Am I using the calculator wrong, do you think? I can look into the 0% APR thing but I'm kind of concerned about opening up a whole new credit card when I do have the means to deal with this situation as is, and pay a doable amount of interest. Based on my ability to pay off the credit card debt each month ($250+/mo), I should be looking at only 6 to 9 months at worst of debt, and still have some extra money each month as a cushion, for my general savings, etc, etc.
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Jul 17, 2023 19:06
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Talk to a local credit union and see if they'll give you a "signature loan", essentially a microloan to cover the repairs, at a far far lower interest rate. As a bonus you'll be developing another financial relationship that will help your credit rating.
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Jul 17, 2023 19:17
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Snuff Melange posted:I can look into the 0% APR thing but I'm kind of concerned about opening up a whole new credit card when I do have the means to deal with this situation as is, and pay a doable amount of interest. There is functionally zero difference between putting that debt on a new credit card or putting it on your current credit card, except for two things: putting it on a new 0% card will improve your credit rating and cost you nothing to do so, while putting it on your current card will mean giving your bank $200 that you absolutely do not have to, in exchange for nothing. Please do not do this. The only reason to be scared of multiple credit cards is if you think having a wider overall credit pool will encourage you to spend it less responsibly, and from what you've posted so far that doesn't sound like it's you. The credit union loan is also excellent advice, but if you'll be paying your purchase off within a new credit card's intro period either way, I would personally take the option that doesn't cost you any interest at all. I believe the credit-building effect of those loans ends the second you close them out (mine seemed to, anyway). Unsinkabear fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Jul 17, 2023 |
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Jul 17, 2023 19:44
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Okay thanks very much, I'm gonna call a credit union near me and see how this timeline would play out if I open a loan. My only concern is that they can't approve me for a loan soon enough (i.e. the car shop won't wait that long to see when and how I'll pay), but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Very helpful financial advice, thanks thread!
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Jul 17, 2023 20:31
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Snuff Melange posted:Okay thanks very much, I'm gonna call a credit union near me and see how this timeline would play out if I open a loan. My only concern is that they can't approve me for a loan soon enough (i.e. the car shop won't wait that long to see when and how I'll pay), but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. If you're worried about the timeline, a 0% credit card approval could very well happen more quickly. Plus, it's the cheaper option, as already mentioned. But hey, as long as you're not paying 28% interest...
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Jul 17, 2023 21:20
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https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/bank/visa-platinum-card Here's a card that gives 0% for 12 months. I've banked with Alliant for 15 years including using this very card for a similar situation and it's been a great relationship.
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Jul 17, 2023 21:27
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SamDabbers posted:https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/bank/visa-platinum-card This card can also later be upgraded into their Signature card (this is essentially what I did), which is a very useful rewards card for someone like you who just wants to have one. It's arguably the best option around right now for that use case, whether you bank there or not (but I also do and vouch for them, I've tried several other places since I opened my first account with them and I always come back). Given what you've shared, I literally cannot think of a single reason why a loan would be a better choice for you than this path. I guess runawayturtles is right, though. Low interest isn't as good as zero interest, but it still beats the heck out of 28%! 
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Jul 17, 2023 22:11
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I am looking for advice on my credit cards. I do not churn, however; I am interested in seeing if there are better ways to maximize rewards. -Costco Citi card -Discover IT -Amazon Prime Visa -Marriott Bonvoy Amex ($95 annual fee edition, converted from old Starwood card) -Chase Sapphire Preferred -Chase Freedom -Apple Mastercard -Target Mastercard One thought is to close both Chase cards or the Bonvoy and go for another travel card such as Amex Gold. I also thought of leaving the travel cards alone and opening an Amex Blue Cash Preferred. Groceries is a category I have a hard time maximizing rewards on most months unless the Discover or Freedom land in the right category. We do not travel a ton, however; we are going to as my son gets older. It may not be a bad idea to stockpile points in anticipation. Any ideas?
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Jul 18, 2023 00:44
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